Audio 3:25
Govt to follow Garnaut report with own green paper

The Federal Government has been given a sign that it has reservoir of public goodwill as it goes about designing an emissions trading scheme.

Transcript

TONY EASTLEY: The Federal Government has been given a sign that it has reservoir of public goodwill as it goes about designing an emissions trading scheme.

Cabinet has spent much of its last few meetings discussing the scheme which will be one of the most significant reforms to the Australian economy.

The Newspoll in today's Australian newspaper shows 61 per cent of those surveyed support an emissions trading scheme, with 56 per cent still supporting it if it means a rise in energy prices.

The Government's climate change advisor, Ross Garnaut will release his final draft report on Friday and the Government will put together a Green paper on the emissions trading scheme after that.

The Climate Change Minister, Penny Wong, spoke to Chief Political correspondent, Lyndal Curtis a short time ago.

PENNY WONG: Let's be clear here. The government is not designing an emission trading scheme on the basis of polls. We are designing it for the long-term economic future of the country.

LYNDAL CURTIS: Do people yet, who aren't necessarily engaged in this debate day to day, really have a clear understanding of what moving to this system would mean?

PENNY WONG: Well, there is no easy road map on this policy reform and we recognise as a government that there is a lot of discussion within the community. A lot of dialogue with the Australian people that needs to take place as we move forward and that is why we have put out, we will be putting out a Green paper later this month which will set out these issues and a range of design options.

In addition, obviously we also have Professor Garnaut's report which will be made public this week so this is a very big issue. It is something that is about the long term future of the nation. It is about the national interest. Obviously it is a discussion that needs to continue and a dialogue with the Australian people will continue.

LYNDAL CURTIS: The states have expressed concerns about what the emissions trading scheme will mean for the asset values of energy industries in their states, are they right to have these concerns?

PENNY WONG: Well, look in February I gave a speech where I laid out high level principles about the way we would approach this climate change policy and we said that in designing the emissions trading scheme, we would take account of three sectors.

The first is households obviously. We are committed to ensuring there are measures to address the impact of a carbon price on Australian families - on Australian households.

The two other sectors we are very conscious of are those firms who are highly emissions intensive and trade on the world market because obviously there are issues for them and the third group we said we were aware of were particularly generators, that is firms where there might be an impact on the asset value once we introduce a carbon price.

So there are three groups the government is very conscious of the impact on these sectors.

We have had a great deal of consultation with these businesses and will continue to do so in the coming months.

LYNDAL CURTIS: Finally Senator Wong, as a South Australian, with Alexander Downer set to retire from his seat of Mayo, should the Labor Party contest that by-election when it happens?

PENNY WONG: Oh well look those are questions I am sure the Party will resolve but obviously, regardless of our political differences, we wish Alexander well in his retirement.